Rotary broom sweeper



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26, 1962 JOHN W JONES INVENTOR Dec. 24, 1963 J. w. JONES ROTARY BROOM SWEEPER a Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. .26, 1962 JOHN VIA/OM55 I INVENTOR Dec. 24, 1963 J. w. JONES ROTARY BROOM SWEEPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 26, 1962 JoH/v g ggg s United States Patent Ofilice 3,ll4,923 Patented Dec. 24., 1963 3,114,923 ROTARY BRQOM SWEEPER .lohn W. Jones, Jones hros. Dirt Contractors, R0. Box 3983, Odessa, Tex. Filed Dec. 26, 1%2, Ser. No. 246,901 Claims. (CI. 1582) This invention relates to brooms and more particularly to a powered rotary broom for street sweeping and related uses.

The sweeper is mounted on a standard farm tractor which has a hydraulic lift mechanism. These lift mechanisms are called three point hitches or A frames. The entire sweeper may be raised or lowered at will of the operator. in addition to this, the broom is mounted to be locked in one of a plurality of pivoted positions about a vertical axis so that the sweepings may be thrown to the right or left or straight ahead. This vertical axis pivot introduces the problem of transmitting power from the tractor to the broom. l have solved this by mounting a right angle gear box powered fro-m the tractor on that portion of the sweeper which is attached to the tractor without rotation. From this point a U joint is located directly below the pivot so that the sweeper may pivot from right or left and the U joint accommodates this movement.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved powered rotary broom sweeper.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a sweeper which is mounted on a standard vehicle so that it may be raised to a transport position or lowered into operating position simply and easily.

A further object is to provide a sweeper which is spring supported as to the contact with the surface being swept, for better sweeping and to prevent damage to the broom.

A further object is to provide such a sweeper which is mounted for selected rotation about a vertical axis.

Still further objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, compact, durable, simple, versatile, and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture and operate.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are not necessarily to the same scale, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sweeper according to my invention attached to the towing vehicle shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sweeper according to my invention attached to a towing vehicle shown in phantom, with the broom cover removed for clarity.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sweeper with some parts broken away and the broom cover removed for clarity.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the spindle taken on line 4-4 of *lG. 2.

IPIG. 5 is a partial plan view showing the spindle illustrating the adjustment about the vertical axis.

As may be seen in the accompanying drawings, broom Ill is a cylindrical broom which is mounted on shaft 12. Inasmuch as these brooms are standard items in commerce which are available on the market for this purpose they will not be further discussed here. The shaft v1.2 is journalled in bearings 14 which are mounted on frame or yoke 16, which in plan forms a rectangle. The bearings 14 are mounted on the short sides 18 of this rectangular frame. Generally, the frame 16 lies in a horizontal plane and the broom shaft 12 is horizontal and level with the surface to be swept.

Adjusting wheels 29 are mounted at the rear corners of the frame '16. These wheels it) are mounted for rotation about a vertical axis as well as a horizontal ax s so that in fact they are castors. Preferably they have pneumatic tires. Threaded shaft 22 rises from above castors 2-0 and extends through a hole within the frame l6. Spring 24 surrounds the threaded shaft 22. and extends between the frame 16 and the top of the oastors 2b. The downward movement of the castors 29 is limited by a pair of lock nuts 26 which are attached to the threaded shaft 22 above the frame 16. By this arrangement the height of the rear of the sweeper may be adjusted. ie. the castors 2% contact the ground and the springs 24 push the frame 16 upward. The height the frame 16 will rise up ward is governed by setting of the lock nuts 26.

Standard agricultural vehicle 28 in the form of a tractor is used to carry the sweeper. These tractors as standard and conventional equipment include a pair of lifter arms 39 which are pivoted at 31 at their forward end to the tractor 23 with the back of the arms extending rearward. The arms 30 may be rotated about the point 3d by lifter links 32; which extend from the arms 2:9 to a hydraulic power lift system. The connection to the sweeper includes a pair of spindle brackets 34 which extend forward from the sweeper. Coupling rod 36 is the third element of the three point hitc It extends from a point on the tractor 28 to the sweeper. The coupling rod '36 is adjustable as to length by a turnbuckle or other means known to the art. As indicated before, the three point hitches or A frames are well known in the agricultural art and therefore not further described here.

Vertical spindle 38 is attached to the forward long side 40 of the rectangular frame 16. Sleeve 42 is mounted below frame in for rotation about the spindle 38 by suitable bearings. The brackets 34 are welded to the sleeve 42. Second sleeve '44 is journalled to the spindle 3 8 and one end of the coupling rod 36 is attached to this sleeve. As the spindle 38 is attached to the frame 16 and as the sleeves d2. and 44- are attached to the tractor, by this means the sweeper with its frame the is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis (spindle 38) relative to the tractor. The brackets 34 and rod 36 provide means for raising and lowering the frame 16 and therefore the sweeper as a whole.

The height of the broom it? or the pressure with which it rides against the ground, may be adjusted by different means. First it will be assumed that when the lift arms 3t are in the lower position that they are pivoted freely so that they can go lower than in the position they are set. Otherwise, of course, it will be understood that the position of the broom could be adjusted by the hydraulic lifter by adjusting the lifter arms 3%. However assuming they are free to rotate in the lower position; the position of the broom it may be controlled by two ways. One Way is by adjusting the length of the coupling rod 3-6. If the coupling rod 36 is shortened the frame '16 will angle forward. inasmuch as the broom it is located forward of the castors 21 the broom '10 will press with more force against the surface. On the other hand if the coupling rod 36 is lengthened the frame 16 will be tilted back and the broom 10 will be lifted from the surface. in addition to this adjustment the casters 26 may be raised or lowered by the position of the lock nuts 26 on the threaded shaft 22.

Power is supplied by the towing vehicle, tractor 2 8, from the power take-off. Power drive shaft 46 is attached to the tractor in a conventional manner and extends behind it to gear box 48 which is mounted upon sleeve 42. The drive shaft 46 is provided with U joints and a spline expansion joint as is customary in the art. Therefore power is supplied to the gear box 48 regardless of the position or angular disposition of the gear box 48. Since the gear box 43 is located on the sleeve 42, the angular disposition will not be changed radically. Broom drive shaft 50 is journalled in bearing 52 which is attached to the frame '16 at the out-board end of the shaft 59. The other end of shaft 50 is connected by U joint 54 to the gear box 48. The U joint 54- is located directly below spindle 33. Therefore it is possible for the frame (16 to be rotated to different positions and power still supplied to the drive shaft 50. Le. any angular change will be accommodated by the U joint 54. The broom 10 is driven by chain 56 which interconnects sprocket 58 mounted on the shaft 50 and sprocket 60 mounted upon broom shaft 12.

Broom guard 62 prevents the sweepings of the broom 10 from being thrown on the operator.

The spindle .38 extends through circular plate 64 welded on top of side 40 of frame 16, and through circular plate 66 welded to the bottom of second sleeve 44. The plates 64 and 66 have a plurality of holes 63 therethrough so that the sweeper may be maintained in a plurality of positions by pin 70. PKG. 2 illustrates some of the positions by dashed lines.

Therefore it may be seen that I have provided a simple yet effective sweeper mechanism to fulfill the objects set forth above.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction, materials, and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sweeper comprising:

(a) a horizontal frame,

(b) a cylindrical broom journalled to said frame for rotation about a horizontal axis,

(c) two wheels attached to the rear of the frame,

((1) a vertical spindle attached to the front of the frame,

(e) a bracket journalled for rotation on said spindle,

(e) a coupling rod journ alled for rotation on said spindle and connected to a towing vehicle,

(1) means interconnecting said bracket and the towing vehicle for raising the bracket and thus the frame from a means on the towing vehicle,

(g) a gear box attached to the bracket,

(It) means for driving said gear box from the towing vehicle,

(1') a shaft journalled to the frame for rotation,

(j) means for rotating the broom responsive to rotation of the shaft,

(k) said gear box having a driving connection to said shaft, and

(I) said driving connection from the gear box to the shaft including a U joint which is aligned with the axis of said spindle.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said means interconnecting said bracket and the towing vehicle permits tilting the frame forward or back by said coupling rod so that the broom is closer or further from the ground relative to the wheels.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the wheels are adjustable as to height, thereby adjusting the height of the broom.

4. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein;

(m) a sleeve is utilized in journalling said coupling rod for rotation on said spindle, and

(11) said coupling rod is adjustable as to length whereby the tilt of the frame is adjusted.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 with the addition of (0) a circular plate attached to the sleeve,

(p) a circular plate attached to the frame,

(q) each plate having a plurality of holes therethrough,

(r) said spindle extending through both plates, and

(s) a pin through one of the holes in each plate for maintaining the fname in adjusted angular position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,172,973 Hayes et a1 Sept. 12, 1939 2,259,632 Grace Oct. 21, 1941 2,330,025 Bentley et al Sept. 21, 1943 2,601,695 Grace July 1, 1952 2,993,326 Van -Der Lely et al July 25, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,804 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1922 699,442 Great Britain Nov. 4, 1953 

1. A SWEEPER COMPRISING: (A) A HORIZONTAL FRAME, (B) A CYLINDRICAL BROOM JOURNALLED TO SAID FRAME FOR ROTATION ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, (C) TWO WHEELS ATTACHED TO THE REAR OF THE FRAME, (D) A VERTICAL SPINDLE ATTACHED TO THE FRONT OF THE FRAME, (E) A BRACKET JOURNALLED FOR ROTATION ON SAID SPINDLE, (E'') A COUPLING ROD JOURNALLED FOR ROTATION ON SAID SPINDLE AND CONNECTED TO A TOWING VEHICLE, (F) MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID BRACKET AND THE TOWING VEHICLE FOR RAISING THE BRACKET AND THUS THE FRAME FROM A MEANS ON THE TOWING VEHICLE, (G) A GEAR BOX ATTACHED TO THE BRACKET, (H) MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID GEAR BOX FROM THE TOWING VEHICLE, (I) A SHAFT JOURNALLED TO THE FRAME FOR ROTATION, (J) MEANS FOR ROTATING THE BROOM RESPONSIVE TO ROTATION OF THE SHAFT, (K) SAID GEAR BOX HAVING A DRIVING CONNECTION TO SAID SHAFT, AND (L) SAID DRIVING CONNECTION FROM THE GEAR BOX TO THE SHAFT INCLUDING A U JOINT WHICH IS ALIGNED WITH THE AXIS OF SAID SPINDLE. 